Organic-inorganic hybrids form the basis of biomineralization. Organic-inorganic hybrids may be used for electronic, optical, and biosensing applications. Such materials combine and enhance the functionalities of different material groups. For example, junctions between self-assembled monolayers and metal nanoparticles allow for the study of single electron transfer processes. Room temperature light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are created by the incorporation of a dye molecule within a perovskite framework. Attachment of oligonucleotides to gold nanoparticles triggers the self-assembly of DNA/nanoparticle arrays for biosensing and DNA sequencing.
With the drive towards device miniaturization, there is a desire for functional units such as nanoparticles and nanorods to be connected in a predefined manner. Thus, in addition to the synthesis of nanoparticles and nanorods, an emerging focus is on connecting and assembling the various nano-units.